The Real Deals During China's 11.11 Sales

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I am a bit notorious among my friends for being the secondhand shopper, and I'm proud of it. The resources and money I've saved, plus the satisfaction of knowing I'm not over-participating in the cycle of consumerism, really makes it worth the small bit of extra effort shopping secondhand requires. That said, during China's crazy November 11.11 shopping season, there are a few things that I take the opportunity to stock up on.

*Just long press on any of the TaoBao images in the article to open the link in the app.Please note that we are not affliated with any of the stores and do not receive any sort of commission from their sales.

Vitamins

For obvious reasons, you can't and probably shouldn't buy these secondhand unless they're unopened and from a trusted source, but since they're pretty expensive anyway, vitamins are a great item to stock up on during the 11.11 sales. In China, some of the most trusted international brands for kids that you can get on Taobao include SmartyPants, Nature's Way and Nordic Naturals.

PRO TIP: In my experience, it would be best to try out one bottle first before buying a year's supply – a rookie mistake I made, which my kid and I are still suffering for because we argue almost daily about eating the gummy vitamins that he strongly dislikes. We still have three full bottles to go through...

Winter Underwear and Socks

There's such a plethora of these we figured it might be best to just give you the search terms so you can find the best ones you like. For kids search “儿童袜子” and for pure cotton options use the search term “100%全棉.” Combining those search terms, here are some pure cotton kids socks and leggings that we found.

PRO TIP: We noticed that there's a nifty option on Taobao to search for season-appropriate clothing here. Choose 冬季 for winter, 春季 for spring, 夏季 for summer, 秋季 for autumn, and 通用 for all seasons!

As for underlayers, we love Uniqlo's Heattech range, which is so wallet-friendly and easily accessible in their brick-and-mortar stores around the city, or online as well. Other popular clothing brands that offer great kids options for under layers during this cold season include Patagonia, The North Face, and Hong Kong-based Moody Tiger.

Books

If you are an avid reader or have one in the family, then you'll be very happy to see the discounts on books at most stores in Taobao right now! I've saved about RMB 80 on a book order that totaled RMB 430 - that's almost 20% off!

On a side note, even though it's not part of the 11.11 sales, the Roundabout Book Store is a great place to get all sorts of books secondhand - from New York Times bestsellers to kids pictures books. Their prices are way lower than TaoBao, even during the sales, and the books are in great condition, sometimes even completely new in the packaging! Plus, it all goes to a good cause for charity. Scan the QR code below to shop some their online store!

Christmas Gifts

Being so close to Christmas, the November 11.11 sale period is a great time to check presents off of the kids' wish lists. Image searching might be the quickest way to get the presents you've been looking for. Check out this video to see how it's done!

Just in case you want some ideas, here are a few of our top picks for Christmas presents from TaoBao, based on different age groups:

From 1 to 3 years of age:

From 3 to 6 years of age:

From 6 to 9 years of age:

From 9 to 12 years of age:

Remember, scientific research shows that things don't bring happiness, experiences do! Buy what you need and save the rest for creating meaningful family memories...

Images: Pexels, Taobao

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